Perhaps it was only fitting that the 102nd Michigan Women's Amateur Championship went to a playoff Friday at Redford's Western Golf & Country Club.

In a nip-and-tuck match, Flushing's Kerrigan Parks needed 19 holes and won it with a par on the first hole to defeat Dearborn's Elayna Bowser in the match play final.

Parks, who will be a sophomore at Marshall University (W.V), continues to build upon her already strong amateur golf resumè. The 19-year-old was the 2017 Golf Association of Michigan Women’s champion and a two-time Michigan Junior Amateur winner.

"This is one of the biggest tournaments of my amateur golf career," Parks said. "It brings all the best women from the state of Michigan here together for one big tournament and it's an honor to be the champion."

Bowser, who played a Dearborn High and will be a senior this fall at Loyola University of Chicago, won the first two holes, but Parks rebounded with pars to win Nos. 4-5-6.

It stayed close throughout with Park taking a 1-up advantage going into the par-4 No. 17 when Bowser made a clutch birdie to square the match.

That sent the twosome back to No. 1 where Bowser's third shot, just atop the bunker near the green, was chunked, opening the door for Parks who made par to claim the title.

The victory capped a long five days for Parks, which began Aug. 13 beginning with two days of stroke play before the field was cut to 32 on Wednesday for single-elimination matches.

"I didn't putt great, but I kept it in the fairways and kept it in the middle of the greens," she said. "This tournament means a lot to me because I'm going to leave for college tomorrow. It really puts a great ending to the summer. It's great leading into the college season."

Dearborn's Elayna Bowser hits an iron in the finals of match play of the Michigan Women's Amateur.(Photo: HOWARD INCH)

The 21-year-old Bowser is a two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference golfer for Loyola who played last week in the U.S. Women’s Amateur in Tennessee.

"It was definitely a long week, played a lot of golf, 36 holes of stroke play and then that first match went the distance, 21 holes, and then this one went 19, but a lot of solid golf played," Bowser said. "I can't complain really."

Parks and Bowser have been very familiar foes on the amateur circuit.

"We've seen each other in the past – match play – and it's always a good match," Bowser said. "We tend to bring out of the best in each other's game. We both were around par, a few under, so considering all things, I can't complain about that."

Western Golf & CC dates back all he way to 1927 when then reigning British Open champ and golf legend Waler Hagen defeated U.S. Open champion Johnny Farrell in an exhibition match.

And the Donald Ross design still proves to be a shotmaker's course.

Fire destroyed the clubhouse at Western on June 1, but a large pavilion style building was erected in the courtyard of the clubhouse, and the building that houses the pro shop and snack shop at the course across from the main clubhouse were not damaged.

"I only live 15 minutes from here, but I have not been out here prior to this week," Bowser said. "I really enjoy the course. It reminds me of my home course Dearborn Country Club and of course I played in high school at Warren Valley. It's like a mix of those two. The course set up nice for my game because I can work it both ways and you need that out here. It was nice."

The new champion also gave kudos to the course conditions, which softened up after Thursday rains.

"It was such in beautiful shape," Parks said. "It was tough though . . . every hole had some dogleg or some bunkers, or something weird. But the course was in great shape and they kept it up so well all week."

GAM at Meadbrook

The 97th Golf Association of Michigan Men's Championship will be Monday-Tuesday, Aug. 20-21 at the newly-renovated Meadowbrook Country Club in Northville for first time since 1953.

The GAM Championship is traditionally just as strong of a field as the Michigan Amateur, and offers top notch competition for the state's best amateur players. Non-exempt players must go through sectional qualifying in order to compete in the championship.

The format 54-hole stroke play event, cut to low 30 players and ties after 36 holes.

Alex Scott of Traverse City, who plays at Grand Valley State and won the Michigan Tournament of Champions with a final round 61 last month at Boyne Mountain Resort, is the defending GAM champ. Scott reached the match play during last week's U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach (Calif.).